The Koinon of Bithynia issued provincial coinage not as routine currency but as a deliberate act of regional politics — strikes tied to imperial cult festivals, governor visits, or moments when a province needed to signal loyalty. Hadrian received particular attention from Bithynia: he visited the region in 123–124 AD, and the grief he publicly expressed over the drowning of his favorite Antinous in the Nile in 130 AD — Antinous was himself Bithynian, from Claudiopolis — gave the province an unusual personal claim on the emperor's sentiment.
The COS III designation dates this issue no earlier than 119 AD, when Hadrian entered his third consulship.
The Koinon of Bithynia issued provincial coinage not as routine currency but as a deliberate act of regional politics — strikes tied to imperial cult festivals, governor visits, or moments when a province needed to signal loyalty. Hadrian received particular attention from Bithynia: he visited the region in 123–124 AD, and the grief he publicly expressed over the drowning of his favorite Antinous in the Nile in 130 AD — Antinous was himself Bithynian, from Claudiopolis — gave the province an unusual personal claim on the emperor's sentiment.
The COS III designation dates this issue no earlier than 119 AD, when Hadrian entered his third consulship.